China Trip Part Two: Guangzhou, My Second Home

Beijing Road at noon.

A lot of us overseas Chinese identify ourselves with ancestry from the Guangdong province. We are often labeled as a people who love money, food, and business which is true due to historical reasons. As a result, we are also known for never participating in politics and are absorbed solely about making money. Such things lead to a variety of negative stereotypes about Cantonese people. Yes it may be true for the majority that we love to make money and would do just about anything for it, but there are also a lot of us that just want to make a living. Stuff in China is expensive, not cheap. While the rest of the world thinks everything made in China is shitty and cheap, you have no idea how expensive things can get. Because Cantonese people are businessmen, we don't discriminate people, we talk in RMB.

Ice cream imported from Korea at 15 RMB.

Even in April, the weather in Guangzhou gets really hot and sticky. We are talking at least 70% humidity everyday. For the time being in April, nights get cooler and you can sleep without a fan on some nights. Just remember to keep those mosquito nets up. Those damn mosquitoes. Because of this hot weather, everyone in the city gets drowsy once it hits 2pm. It is no surprise to see businesses close at 2pm and go on intermission. When you walk out onto the streets, there's practically no one. Sometimes when I go out shopping, I don't even eat out. I'm just having ice cream for lunch. Loads and loads of water and ice cream.

Beginning of the Beijing Road Pedestrian Mall.

Every tour group takes you the Beijing Pedestrian Mall located on Beijing Road in Guangzhou. I have the luxury of going there anytime I want. Honestly this time I was very disappointed. A lot of the shops I went to years ago disappeared. Shang Xia Jiu is another shopping district and it hasn't changed much. But overall a lot less stuff to look at and less people are going there. It use to be a great place to get souvenirs and trinkets. Now it's just ... empty. However MiniSou opened up here and expanded in Guangzhou like wildfire. They are based in Japan and they sell trendy things at a low price. The cheapest thing you get here is 10 RMB which is 1.61 USD.At 15 RMB you can get yourself a nice mug with a cover and it comes with a spoon too. My mom and I splurged a lot at this store and all their stores all across Guangzhou.

Kpop love at an underground mall.

There are still lots of different malls to go to. Unlike American malls, Chinese malls are much larger with more things to do. Other than clothes and foods, you have movie theaters, restaurants, and a large variety of shops jammed into one building. Some malls have kids centers and mini amusement parks depending on how large it can be. Either way, they are the best places to go to for free AC. Transportation is very convenient. All the train stations have English written on them and I've seen a lot of foreigners easily navigate through the city. Bus fare is still 2 RMB and pretty much the cheapest mode of transportation. They have strong AC and run really fast. You may notice that most trees in Guangzhou are banyan trees. They are the most popular tree here.

Somewhere near the Flower and Bird Market.

The stone carving market.

Plum wine (left) and sweet rice wine (right).

Since I stayed with family, I ate local a lot. Most people go to open air markets where everything is fresh. Supermarkets have huge sections dedicated to import goods that are three times the price of domestic goods. (Like for real people. Chocolate is super expensive and it's only Ferero Rocher.) My favorite fruit here is watermelon, but loquats are also in season and this year they are just terrible. They can be sold from 4 RMB per 500 grams to 12 RMB per 500 grams and yet they are still sour. Loquats are suppose to be kind of sweet and sour, but the ones we got were just horrifically sour like lemons. I only ate them because they were good for the throat or else I would have stuck with watermelon all day long. Having Chinese guava for the first time; yeah it's really not my type of thing. Smells good, but has no taste really. By the last two weeks of May, it was the beginning of lychee season so I had a lot of lychee. As much as I wanted alcohol, I was told that most places sold cheap liquor at high prices and you can tell just by shaking the bottle. So I stuck with a plum wine and tried this sweet rice wine. Plum wine tasted a lot like Chinese plums soaked in alcohol which took some time to get use to it. The sweet rice wine tasted a lot like sugar water with alcohol. Man, I should have gotten myself a beer instead and yet I went beer-free those two months.

Guava. Made the entire house smell good.

Loquats and apples for scale.

I really suggest that tourists come prepared with research mostly on how to get to places because usually you will find that there's just too much to explore. If you are going to be traveling a lot, try to get yourselves a Yangchengtong which is a lot like a Metrocard. It'll save you time buying tokens at train stations. Bring water and umbrellas with you at all times. Weather starting at the end of March will fluctuate between sunny and rainy days. In most places, you will be paying in cash. I have seen some people pay for pricier things in stores using a UnionPay card which I have yet to use. That RMB can disappear really quick.

A PSA poster about traveling in a civil manner.